Waffle baker



l Get. 27, 1942.

A. C. PURPURA WAFFLE BAKER Filed Dec. 2. 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l b Q ww QM m n 1|||| h mn. Il H L2. i. s. w VN l l l l I l I l l I IIUINN IS\IN NRKWWRW .V mv f f w ww NN :uw QH. w 3Q N m ww I Il H WN@ w ll #d RN. L v `lll .WW Wu N\` will IN /N \4\ l" 4 @N f .uw

Oct. 27, 1942. A. c. PURPURA 2,300,061

' wAFFLE BAKER Filed Dec. 2, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1942' WAFFLE BAKER August C. Purpura, Chicago, Ill. Application December 2, 1940, Serial No. 368,158

(Cl. 21S- 19) 17 Claims.

This invention relates in general to thermally controlled cooking devices and has more particular reference to a new and improved waiile baker of the type wherein the baking operation is automatically terminated at a predetermined time.

One of the objects oi my invention is to provide a waiile baker of the character described which will operate with unerring eiiiciency.

Another object of my invention is to provide a waiile baker having a snap-acting mould member for baking the batter adapted to snap in one direction at the termination of the baking operation and in the opposite direction when cooled, in successive cooking operations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Waille baker having a exible heat responsive mould and heating means therefor controlled entirely by the close association of the mould with'the Waile batter temperature and operating to terminate the heating of the waie when it has reached a predetermined temperature.

Another object is to provide a Waille baker havingga snap-acting mould orv grid member which eliminates the usual sticking of the waffle to the mould by reason of the sudden snap- 'pingIv action which tends to loosen the waiile from the mould or grid at the completion of the cook- Y ing operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wallie baker having a snap-acting cooking mould responsive to the cooking temperature to indicate or control the extent of the cooking operation. i

A further object is to provide a wallie baker having a flexible heat responsive mould member and a flexible manually operated mould member constructed and arranged so that the heat responsive mould member automatically terminates the wallie baking operation and the other mould member may be manually flexed to remove the wallie from the mouldA without the use of a fork or other cooking instrument.

My invention also aims to provide an automatic waiile baker of the character described having adjustable means whereby any type'cf waffle may be made, either light or dark or any intermediate degree of brownness.

My invention also aims to provide a novel thermal timer particularly adapted for application to wallie baking.

.My invention also alms to provide a. novel method vof making wellies.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent "as the invention becomes better understood when considered in connection with the accompanying description and drawings which disclose a prel ferred embodiment.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. l is a vertical section baker embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial top view oi one ci the mould members;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view of modified form of mould member embodying my invention; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of still another form ci mould member embodying my invention.

For purpose of illustration I have shown my invention as applied to an electric waffle baker although, as indicated above, it is in some respects adapted to other cooking devices, ii/.1y invention contemplates mould or grid members 4 and 5 of novel construction and functional characteristics, as will be presently more iiilly described. have here shown the mould inem bers applied in a Waffle maker having a suitable base i and cover- 2. Each mould is preferably of thin flexible metal shaped and mounted se as to be capable of snap action. In the present embodiment the mould i is bimetallic and has a snap action in response to certain temperan ture changes and the mould 5 is non-bimetallic. The lower mould 4 is suitably mounted on the base i, a circular flange `B which is secured to the base I with the screws 'land 8 serving to hold the mould in position. The upper mould 5 is suitably mounted on the cover member 2, a circular flange 9 which is secured to the cover member by the screws l0 and il serving to hold this mould in position. The cover` 2.?l is pivotaily connected to the base i by the hinge i3 and pin I4 and hinge bracket l5. A suitable handle is also provided for manually lifting the cover and is shown at Il' and is fastened to the cover by the brackets I6. v

Each mould preferably consists ci a marginal portion providing a mounting and an interior portion adapted to flex in a snap action. in the form shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, each mould member has a corrugated section formed by re verse curvesA to give alternating channels and ribs radiating from the center. This provides a unique mould face for waiiiemaking and gives a stiff section which aids in the snap action. The waiiie batter is poured onto the lower mould in the same manner as in a conventional waiile baker and the moulds are heated by suitable electric heating. elements. Both moulds may be through a waiile ,/y y

chrome-plated to make them better wear-resistant and to give a good cooking surface which will not discolor from the heat. Both are formed to suitable shape. Where the radiating channels and ribs are usedI provide an open center in each mould topermit simple fabrication andv forming. It will be readily seen that one of the advantages of having the mould vmembers constructed as herein described is that the moulds are very easily cleaned by brushing between the ribs, something that is very diflicult with conventional waiile moulds. The upper mould which is made of a non-bimetallic material, preferably stainless steel, is manually operated for loosening the Waiiie from the upper mould by depressing the Bakelite handle it which is normally urged upwardly by a spring 26 pressing against a washer and pin 2t on the rod i9. The lower threaded portion of the rod i9 is screwed into a stud 22 mounted in the center of the upper mould and a washer 2i mounted between the rod l and the stud 22 holds the stud in position on the mould.

The heating elements. 2l and 2E are shown only in diagrammatic form and comprise coiled resistance wires 29 and 3B mounted on suitable brackets with conventional insulation such as mica washers and refractory hooks or knobs (not shown). Electric current may be supplied to the heating elements in any suitable manner. As shown, the current flows from the line circuit through a cord 3l which enters the base l through an insulated bushing 32. The heating elements 2l and 2t are connected in series by the wires Sil and Sli running through a flexible tubing which is fastened at its ends to the body 'l and cover 2. The current ow to the heating elements is controlled by a suitable switch structure 35 which is shown as consisting of two spring type blades 3l and 33 mounted on blocks of insulating material 39 and lil which are fastened to a bracket ti. Mounted on the ends of the blades El and Si! are suitable contacts i2 and respectively. The current ows from a wire ld from the cord 3i through blade St across the contacts i3 and 32, through blade 3? to the wire 33 and to the heating elements as shown by the wiring in Fig. l.

The lower mould member il is a thermostat member preferably bimetallic. and shaped so that its center portion is normally dished downwardly. When this mould is subjected to heat from the heating element 2l and after a predetermined temperature has been reached the center portion of the mouldfmember snaps upward- 1y beyond a dead center position, as indicated by the dotted line la in Fig. 1. This lifts the waiile at its center portion and, in the present embodiment it also slightly raises the cover. 2 on its hinge. This raising movement of the mould also actuates the switch blade 38 to discontinue the flow of current to the elements 2l and 28. This may be accomplished by suitable means, as follows: A stud i5 fastened to the center of the lower mould by a washer il@ and screw il transmits the motion. A bracket 33 secured to the stud IE5 by the screw il is pivotally connected by a pin it to a lever E@ which is pivoted by pin iii on bracket 52. A. contact 'knob .53 of a refractory material is mounted on one end of lever 5@ for actuating the switch blade 3d to separate the contacts l2 and i3 and thus break the circuit to the heating elements 2li and 2t.

To vary the degree of cooking the mould member l is placed under spring tension by a aaodoei knob 5t which is secured to a rod 5E by the set vscrew The rod 5t is suitably mounted on the body l and on a supporting bracket 5l. A cam 58 secured to the rod 55 by a pin 59 engages a lever Sil which is pivotedby pin 6l on bracket t2. A spring 63 connects the lever S0 to the stud i5 at 64. Thus, turning the knob 54 in a clockwise direction (facing the left hand side of Fig. l), turns the cam 58, moves the lever downwardly, stresses the spring and places the mould member t under greater tension. This obviously increases the cooking interval and produces a darker waiile. Turning the knob 54 in a counter-clockwise direction produces an opposits effect, a lighter waille. The total travel of the knob 5t is, in the present embodiment, about 180, and the front portion of body l may be graduated (not shown) and the words Light and Dark applied on the body l to indicate with the above described cycle.

Fig. 4 shows another form of. my invention wherein the mould or grid has bosses 6l somewhat similar to conventional waiiie moulds. The wallie batter in this structure does not contact the thermostatic metal directly because a metallic disc t5 is secured to a smaller bi-metallic disc titi by rivet studs te. The snap action is very accurately controlled because of the close association of the disc S5 and the thermostatic disc til. The center portion of this mould member snaps upwardly in response to a predetermined cooking temperature like the mould member Il, to the dotted line position da shown in Fig. l. The mechanical assembly may also be the same as the mould member t.

Fig. 5 shows still another :form of my invention in which the design is similar to Fig. 4 with the exception that the numerous rivet studs 69 are `directly fastened to a thermostatic disc 70 and the waffle comes in direct contact with the thermostatic disc. This makes y:for very accurate operation in accordance with the waie temperature and also serves to give rapid cooling eiect on the disc when pouring the batter at the beginning of the cooking operation. The center portion of the mould member snaps upwardly for the same purpose as described with reference to Fig.

l. The mechanical assembly and control is also' similar to that of the mould member 4 in Fig. 1. It is also to be understood that both mould members shown in Fig. a and Fig. 5 will be downwardly inclined at the center portion when assembled as shown in Fig. 1. This is caused by the downward pull of the spring t3 which exerts a tension on the mould holding it exed in order to obtain a snap action.

The upper mould will be constructed, when using either lower mould shown in Figs. 4 or 5, similar to the mould shown in Fig. 5 with the exception that the disc lli will be made of a nonthermostatic metal, preferably from stainless steel. The mechanical assembly and control will be similar to the upper mould 5 shown in Fig. l.

The operation of th'e herein described invention is as follows: The operator must rst preheat the mould members the same as with cony ventional warlle bakers now on the market. This is done in the present case by merely plugging the cord into an outlet connection, whereupon the current will flow through the switch and then to the upper and lower heating elements associated with their respective mould members. When the temperature of the moulds, which is controlled by the lower mould member, has risen to l a predetermined degree the lower mould member being made of a thermostatic bimetal snaps upwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This snap action movement of the lower mould member simultaneously breaks the circuit, interrupts the flow of current to the heating elements, and raises the cover to indicate to the operator the termination of the proheating period. The operator then lifts the cover higher and pours batter on thelower mould member. The lower mould member is then cooled very quickly,r by the batter and snaps downwardly, this snap action movement automatically turning on the switch to permit the flow of current to the heating elements. The operator then lowers the cover and the cooking operation starts. By turning the knob 54 the operator can adjust the length of the cooking operation to produce the type of wafiie desired. When the wame is baked to the extent controlled by the temperature of lthe lower waffle mould member, in, this case for a period until approximately 425 F. is reached for a dark brown wallie and approximately 375 F. for a light brown wallie, the center portion of the lower mould member will automatically snap upwardly, lifting the center portion of the wallie and also the cover,

as shown in dotted. lines in Fig. 1. This simultaneously opens the switch contacts in the heating circuit and terminates the cooking operatic-.1. The operator then lifts the cover upwardly and it will be found that the waiile will cling to the vupper mould member because the snap action, of the lower mould member loosens the wafile from such member. However, the operator then merely strikes downwardly on the knob i8 on the cover thereby loosening the waflle from the upper mould member and permitting it to dropY by' gravity, whereupon it may be very easily removed by the operator.

It is thought that the invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven- Ation or sacrificing any of its material advantages,l the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

l. A waiiie baker having a disc-shaped bimetallic wallie mould adapted in response to heating to have a snap action movement from a baking position to a finished position, and means :for heating said mould in a cooking operation to l effect said snap action movement.

2. A waffle baker having heating' means and a bimetallic thermally responsive waille baking mould adapted to flex in a snap action movement in response. to heat from said heating means.

3. A wallie baker having heating means, a wallie baking mould flexible in snap action movements to and from a baking position, and a bimetallic thermally responsive member coacting lwith the mould in response to heat from said heating means to cause said snap action movement of the mould away from said baking position.

4. A thermal timerl having a bimetallic thermally responsive cooking mould adapted to flex from a cooking position to a non-cooking position in response to heat transmitted to the mould in the cooking operation.

5. A bimetallic thermally responsive cooking mould adapted to flex from a cooking 'posi to a non-cooking position in response transmitted to the mould in the cooldng on tion and adapted by said :flexing to loose cooked article from the mould.

6. In a wallie baker or the metallic batter cooking mould member with its high expansion metal @n the u, to snap upwardlly when said mould mein reached a predetermined high temperat to snap downwardly when said mould rr has been cooled by the batter of a sucoeseiv ing operation.

7. In a cooking appliance, the combination et a flexible bimetallic warp-acting foodcoolring supporting member adapted to warp in one dit tion when said cooking member has rca predetermined high temperature and thereb the cooked article to indicate to the opetermination of the cooking operationE operated by said warp-acting memb tinue the heating operation. in responso to pletion of the cooking operation.

8. In a wallie baker or the like, the eo of a thin birnetallic flexible batter cei member adapted to flex in one di snap action marmer when said mould r has been subjected to heat, means for termin the heating operation when said mould r .has reached a predetermined high tempi and means for continuing the heatlii mould member when said memberhas been by a batter of the successive cooking ooe 9. In a wafiie baker or the like, a thin i exible batter cooking mould member `llex upwardly in a snap action manner mould member has reached a predeterin. temperature to thereby lift the waffle to niet... the termination of the cooking operation.

l0. In a waiile baker or the like, :a sponsive bimetallic snap-acting bat and supporting mould member adap upwardly when subjected to heat, to lili. t upwardly and to terminate the heating 1l. In a waiiie baker or the like, the tion of heating means, and a olf metallic batter cooking mould member ao. .i ilex in one direction when said mould niet has reached a predetermined high tempera-tu thereby lift the finished wai'iie and sunniti-ineen terminate the heating of the mould member adapted to ex in opposite direction wl mould member has been cooled by the ha successive cooking operation and to contin heating of the mould member.

tion of a. ilexible bimetallic lower mouid me and a hinged upper mould lniembe means for both upper and lower moi a switch for controlling the current to sai ing means, and means whereby has reached a predetermined temper bimetallic lower mould member will .en i wardly thereby simultaneously lifting the im waffle and the upper mould member on its i and actuating the switch member for t nating the heating of the mould members.

13. In a waffle baker or the like, i.. tion of thin flexible metallic upper mould members each adapted for i means including a bimetallic member conc with the lower mould member for automatic snapping said member upwardly upon comme of the cooking operation, manual means io ping the upper mould downwardly when rer;

the waiile, heating means for the mould members, a switch for controlling the ow of current to the heating means, and additional means controlled by the lower mould member for actuating the switch for terminating the heating of the mould members when the lower member snaps upwardly at termination of the cooking operation.

14. In a waie baker or the like, the combination of a thin exible batter cooking mould member adapted to flex upwardly in a snap-acting manner when said mould member has neen sub jected to heat, means for heating said mould member, means for terminating the heating operation when said mould has reached a predetermined high temperature, a spring connected to the center portion of the flexible mould member, and adjustable means for stressing said spring for determining at what temperature said snap action of the mould member occurs.

l5. A cooking appliance having a bimetallic member on which an article is adapted to be cooked, means for heating said member to perform the cooking operation, and means for controlling the heating means in which the exing of the bimetallic member is utilized to control termination of the cooking period and as a visible indication of such termination.

16. In a cooking appliance, a bimetallio member on which an article is adapted to be cooked, means for heating said member to perform the cooking operation, and means responsive t0 thermal dexing of the bimetallic cooking member to terminate the cooking operation.

i7. In a cooking appliance, a member on which an article is adapted to be cooked, said member being fiexible in a direction transversely of the major axis of the article, means for heating said member to perform the cooking operation, and a bimetallic member connected to said cooking member and serving to impart said transverse nexure to said cooking member in response to heat from said cooking operation, said iiexure of the cooking member serving to displace the cooked article from its initial cooking position.

AUGUST C. PURPURA. 

